


run the spring

by thewriterofperfectdisasters



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Doctor AU, Fluff, M/M, Paramedic AU, it's not even. damen/laurent sappy it's just straight up sappy shit sdjfh, only lightly editing oops, some real sappy shit in here ngl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-10-11 05:05:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17440496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewriterofperfectdisasters/pseuds/thewriterofperfectdisasters
Summary: ‘Okay, you can stop it with yourperfectboyfriend and relationship, we’re not all like that.’‘Boyfriend?’ Lazar, one of the ER doctors asked, as he strolled past with a tablet in his hands. ‘Laurent? Dating? You’re not dating someone, are you?’‘I am,’ Laurent said flatly. ‘He’s the love of my life.’‘Who would –’ Lazar snapped his mouth shut and rephrased his words. ‘Tell me more.’aka, the doctor/paramedic "everyone thinks we hate each other but in reality, you're the love of my life" au that absolutely no one asked me for. as usual.





	run the spring

**Author's Note:**

> henlo it me! i've been Busy today and while this is not the fic i intended to finish this week, it is a fic... that i have finished this week.
> 
> big shout out to kodie, who brainstormed this with me in an absolute fit of madness at like 1am on a thursday night lmao. this may not have everything we hoped for, but i sure would not be opposed to writing more in this verse.
> 
> only lightly edited bc it's 3am and i wanna sleep lol. title from the eponymous song by nömak, purely bc it's what i was listening to and like. im tired.

**Thursday, 5:32am.**

‘You awake?’ Damen whispered, crouched at the other side of the bed, as the cat twined itself around his ankles.

‘No.’

‘Okay. I’ve made you some lunch, and the cat’s had breakfast,’ Damen stood, pushing the blankets away to kiss Laurent’s forehead on the way up. ‘I love you. See you tonight.’

‘Mm, wait,’ Laurent said. ‘Come back.’

‘You okay?’ Damen asked on instinct.

‘Mm,’ Laurent’s hand reached out blindly for Damen’s shirt, pulling him down to _actually_ kiss him. ‘Tonight.’

‘Order in?’

‘Wontons.’

Damen laughed quietly. ‘Got it. I’ve gotta go.’

‘No,’ Laurent yanked him down a little further, nearly bringing Damen crashing down on him. ‘Five more minutes.’

‘Babe, you’re gonna make me late.’

‘I won’t.’

‘Dr de Vere,’ Damen pried Laurent’s fingers from his shirt gently, tucking the hand back under the covers. ‘I need to go save lives.’

‘Fine,’ Laurent grumbled. ‘Bring me the fun ones.’

‘I’ll try.’

 

**Thursday, 6:58am.**

‘You look dead,’ Damen announced, dropping into the chair beside Nik and handing him a cup of coffee. ‘You sleep okay?’

‘I…’ Nik yawned, taking the coffee and cradling it with a sigh. ‘Didn’t.’

‘You didn’t sleep?’

‘I dozed.’

‘Dude, we do twelve-hour shifts.’

‘You won’t snitch if I nap in the back, will you?’

‘It’s too early in the day to be considering that as an option already.’

‘But I –’

‘Nope. Time to go,’ Damen said, standing and slapping Nik’s leg. ‘We’re up.’

Nik stood with a long, drawn out sigh, as he followed Damen out to their ambulance. ‘Damen, I’m –’

‘Stop fucking on a school night then,’ Damen muttered. ‘I’ll drive.’

 

**Thursday, 7:31am.**

‘You’ve been requested downstairs.’

Laurent looked up from the tablet in front of him and blinked. ‘I’ve been here for exactly one minute.’

‘Yeah, they need you,’ the nurse shrugged. ‘Apparently you didn’t answer your page.’

‘I’ve been here _one minute_ ,’ Laurent repeated. ‘Jesus Christ, I guess I’ll be downstairs then.’

Laurent put the tablet back on the counter of the nurses’ station and headed to the elevator, pulling out his phone and seeing two notifications. One, the page from the emergency department, the other, a text from Damen.

 

_(07:29) Got a present coming in for you!_

Of course, it was Damen. No one else would dare to request him this early in the morning, one minute after his shift had started – but then again, Laurent was the on call paediatric specialist. Maybe it wasn’t specifically just to start his day off in his brother’s department.

‘Dr de Vere,’ Auguste said, eyebrow raised as he watched Laurent step off the elevator. ‘Why are you in my department?’

‘Got a page,’ Laurent said, shrugging as he came to stand with his brother, arms crossed as he leaned against the nurses’ station. ‘Is it here yet?’

‘A couple minutes out. They requested you.’

‘I figured, seeing as I was paged,’ Laurent said drily. ‘How long have you been here? You look dead.’

‘I got here like half an hour ago,’ Auguste said, rubbing at his neck as he flicked through on his tablet. ‘Didn’t sleep much.’

‘You should really try not to schedule your hook ups for school nights.’

‘It’s not on _purpose_. We both just had the night off and it… took longer than we thought it would.’

‘I’m sorry, it what?’

‘Yeah, I know.’

‘Who is this person? Making you, what, talk after sex?’

Auguste, to his credit, didn’t blush as much as Laurent expected him to. ‘No, we – well, yeah, we do, but I just like… being with – him.’

Laurent blinked, settling in against the nurses’ station and leaning in closer to his brother. ‘You’re seeing a guy?’

‘I’m not _seeing_ him,’ Auguste muttered. ‘I’m seeing a lot _of_ him, but we’re not… together.’

‘Do you want to be?’

‘Okay, you can stop it with your _perfect_ boyfriend and relationship, we’re not all like that.’

‘Boyfriend?’ Lazar, one of the ER doctors asked, as he strolled past with a tablet in his hands. ‘Laurent? Dating? You’re not dating someone, are you?’

‘I am,’ Laurent said flatly. ‘He’s the love of my life.’

‘Who would –’ Lazar snapped his mouth shut and rephrased his words. ‘Tell me more.’

‘He makes me lunches and writes notes for me to find under my sandwiches,’ Laurent said, voice entirely devoid of emotion. He hadn’t wanted to start his day with discussing Damen, when he’d much rather be in bed, curled in his arms instead – but he’d never talked about Damen, and even though most of the staff in the ER were familiar with him, they’d never believe they were actually together.

‘He does, does he?’

‘Yes. He rescued a feral kitten once, we spent three weeks socialising it, and are now experts at swaddling kittens so they can’t claw your face. He knows my order for every takeaway place by heart, and on days when he gets home before me, he draws us a bath and we light candles and fall asleep in the water. Until the cat starts trying to get into the bathroom.’

Lazar frowned and glanced to Auguste, who was steadfastly looking at his tablet, the smallest of smiles on his face. ‘You’re not serious, are you?’

‘Oh, I am,’ Laurent shrugged. ‘Why would I lie?’

‘Because you’re you?’

‘Are you trying to say something?’

‘I’m – oh, your favourite person is here,’ Lazar said, nodding towards the ambulance entrance, where Damen was walking in with a kid and his unhappy mother.

‘Lovely,’ Laurent sighed, pushing off the counter and heading towards a free cubicle, beckoning Damen and his patient over. ‘Hi, I’m Dr de Vere, what’s happening?’ he asked, grabbing a pair of gloves from the box on the wall.

‘I have a ball in my ear,’ the kid grinned, showing a gap-toothed smile.

‘You do?’ Laurent said, glancing to Damen for more information.

‘This is Hayden,’ Damen said, helping the kid carefully onto the bed and turning his head gently to the right side for Laurent. ‘He’s six, and this morning he put a marble in his ear. We didn’t have the right stuff with us to get it out.’

‘How small are they making marbles these days?’

‘Too small,’ Hayden’s mother said with a huff. ‘My wife thinks I’m overreacting by calling the paramedics.’

‘Well, they can be tricky to get out,’ Laurent said, looking into Hayden’s ear quickly, ‘but we can remove it, and you’ll be out of here in time for school. How does that sound?’

Hayden frowned and crossed his arms. ‘Hmm.’

‘You say, _“that sounds good”_ ,’ Hayden’s mother said. ‘School is fun, right?’

‘No.’

‘School is super fun!’ Damen said, picking up the conversation as Laurent went to get something to remove the marble. ‘What’s your teacher’s name?’

‘Miss Kane,’ Hayden said, perking up a little. ‘She’s pretty.’

‘Is she?’

‘Her hair is pink.’

‘That’s pretty cool,’ Damen nodded, as Laurent came back with a small… something. ‘I think I might like to have pink hair. Should I make my hair pink, too?’

‘No,’ Hayden giggled. ‘Green.’

‘Green?’ Damen hummed thoughtfully. ‘I think you’re right. Green sounds like it would look better.’

‘Okay, Hayden,’ Laurent said, setting up the… thing, earning a raised eyebrow from Damen. ‘I need you to stay super still for me, and I’ll see if I can get you a really cool sticker to show your friends at school, yeah?’

‘Okay.’

‘Hold him for me,’ Laurent murmured, moving into Damen’s space and bringing the thing with him. He put one end into Hayden’s ear, and moments later, had a marble out. ‘There. All done.’

‘It’s out?’ Hayden’s mother asked, craning her head around Damen’s massive form. ‘That was fast.’

Laurent shrugged, taking the marble and putting it into a small specimen container for them. ‘I have a lot of practice. Should I go find you that sticker?’

 

**Thursday, 8:01am.**

‘You’re very good at sucking things,’ Damen said with a grin, and leaning on the nurse’s counter beside Laurent as he handed back the tablet.

‘He has a boyfriend,’ Lazar said, spinning on a chair behind the desk.

‘Oh?’ Damen asked, and Laurent _knew_ that look. ‘Tell me about him.’

‘He can be a dick sometimes,’ Laurent said, straightening up and narrowing his eyes, ‘but I love him.’

‘Is he hot? I bet he’s almost _godlike_ having to put up with you.’

It was teasing, but Laurent doubted Lazar knew that, going by the gleeful expression on his face as he watched them bicker. ‘If you’re trying to get in his pants, I don’t think insults will work,’ he grinned.

‘I wouldn’t say he’s _godlike_ ,’ Laurent replied, ‘but he’s okay.’

‘Who’s this?’ Auguste asked, appearing from somewhere.

‘Laurent’s boyfriend.’

‘Oh.’ Auguste paused and looked between his brother and Damen. ‘Are you trying to hit on my brother?’ he asked conspiratorially. ‘He’s practically _married_ , Damen.’

‘I don’t see any rings,’ Lazar said helpfully.

‘Well, _someone_ hasn’t asked me yet,’ Laurent said.

‘Maybe he’s not a good boyfriend after all,’ Damen murmured. ‘If I was him, I’d get on that.’

‘You’d think so, wouldn’t you?’ Laurent said, and it felt like a challenge, even as the words left his lips. ‘I’m going back to my own department. Auguste – lunch?’

‘Lunch. I’ll text you.’

Laurent nodded and smiled towards Damen as he entered the elevator and the doors started to close.

‘Why do you antagonise him like that?’ Lazar asked, pulling Damen out of his trance as he considered Laurent’s words.

They’d talked about marriage, and he’d really been meaning to actually… well. He didn’t want to think of the _“P”_ word. But he needed to. And he should probably… do it. At some point. Soon.

‘What?’ Damen asked, turning back around. ‘What did you say?’

‘Why do you always say things to piss him off?’ Lazar cocked his head with a curious smile. ‘You know he’s not going to dump his apparently miraculous boyfriend for you.’

‘I’m not saying he should dump his boyfriend,’ Damen shrugged, as Nik appeared from somewhere and nodded towards the exit. ‘I’m just saying I’d like to know what he’s like under all that clothing.’

‘That’s my brother you’re talking about there,’ Auguste warned, the same knowing twinkle in his eye that Damen often saw reflected in Laurent’s. ‘Get out of my department. You’ve got other things to do.’

‘I do. See you later, probably.’

‘Probably,’ Auguste agreed. ‘Tell, uh, your buddy that I say hi.’

‘Nik?’

‘Yeah, him.’

Damen frowned, but nodded and headed off to join Nik, who was waiting for him in the driver’s seat. ‘Auguste says hi?’ he said suspiciously, as Nik started up the engine and pulled out.

‘Oh?’ Nik said, a beat too late. ‘That’s Laurent’s brother, right?’

‘Yes. You know this.’

‘Huh, I suppose I probably do.’

 

**Thursday, 12:24pm.**

‘So,’ Auguste said, shoving a ketchup-drenched fry into his mouth. ‘You’ve spilled the beans.’

‘What beans?’ Laurent asked, opening up his lunchbox. He felt like a little kid when he did this, especially because Damen had insisted they get matching dinosaur ones – he said it was because they were insulated, but Laurent supposed his dearest darling boyfriend forgot he had access to staff fridges. The food, though, was definitely better than most of what the staff only cafeterias offered.

‘The boyfriend beans.’

‘It’s not like I was ever hiding it,’ Laurent shrugged, taking out his sandwiches to see the _I love you! Hope you’re having a good day :)_ note from Damen. It made him smile, even as he folded it in half and slipped it into the side netting of his lunchbox with the rest from this week.

‘No,’ Auguste agreed. ‘I suppose you weren’t.’

‘What about your boyfriend beans?’

‘I don’t have a boyfriend.’

‘Maybe not, but you have a boy- _fuck_ _buddy_ ,’ Laurent said, biting into a sandwich. Strawberry jam and Nutella. He wondered if that was intended for him, or if Damen had mixed theirs up again. Not like he wasn’t still going to eat it.

‘I mean, yeah, I guess I do,’ Auguste frowned.

‘So? Spill your beans.’

‘There are no beans to spill.’

‘You can’t just leave me hanging. I need some details here, Auguste.’

‘You don’t actually.’

‘No, I do. What’s his name? What’s he like?’

‘He’s nice,’ Auguste said, making a vague gesture with a fry that threatened to splatter ketchup everywhere. ‘He’s tall, and _really_ good looking, and I like him.’

‘You do, huh,’ Laurent said, a sly grin spreading over his face. ‘Tell me more.’

‘I don’t know what you want from me.’

‘Well, a picture or a name would be good. I’m very good at Instagram stalking.’

‘You’re not stalking his Instagram.’

‘Says who?’

‘Says me, because he’ll kill me if I tell you.’

Laurent’s eyebrows shot up. ‘That sounds a lot like I know him.’

Auguste snapped his mouth shut. ‘You don’t.’

‘ _Oh_ no, you can’t hide this from me. I _know_ you. Who is it? Lazar? I think that’s illegal, Auguste.’

‘It’s not Lazar, Jesus, Laurent.’

‘Jord?’

‘No.’

‘Jord’s boyfriend?’ Laurent hummed. ‘Aimeric, right? He seems like he might be a bit shifty.’

‘Laurent, stop.’

‘No, wait,’ Laurent tapped a finger on his chin. ‘Is it Nik?’

Auguste swallowed audibly, shoving more fries in his mouth. ‘No.’

‘Auguste, no,’ Laurent grinned. ‘It’s Nik?’

‘No.’

‘Are you fucking Damen’s best friend?’ Laurent whispered gleefully. ‘You’re fucking my boyfriend’s best friend?’

‘No,’ Auguste repeated, even as the blush rose on his skin. ‘It’s not, it’s –’

‘But you _hate_ Nik. Oh my _God_ , are you _hatefucking_?’

‘Laurent, shut the fuck up,’ Auguste hissed, swatting at him with another ketchup packet. ‘No.’

‘Auguste!’

‘You can’t – Nik will _end_ me if Damen finds out.’

‘You like him!’

‘Yes, okay? Shut up, I’m not joking, he’ll kill me in my sleep.’

‘But you said you don’t sleep!’ Laurent let out a surprised laugh. ‘You said you talk to him, and – _Auguste_ , that means he likes you too?’

‘He doesn’t. He’s made it very clear,’ Auguste said, suddenly so glum Laurent almost stopped teasing him. ‘Now, can we just eat our lunch?’

‘We can, but we’re coming back to this in the near to immediate future.’

‘Nope.’

‘We are.’

‘We’re not, though.’

‘But we are.’

 

**Thursday, 1:14pm.**

‘I love my job,’ Laurent said, maybe a little more forcefully than necessary into the phone tucked between his shoulder and his ear. ‘Remind me why I love my job.’

‘Why, what happened?’ Damen asked, his voice drifting down the line.

‘There’s _vomit_ in my pants,’ Laurent said, finally managing to strip his scrub pants off and flinging them to the side. ‘Like, _through_ my pants.’

‘Through your pants?’ Damen sounded like he was trying not to laugh. ‘To the skin?’

‘To the _skin_.’

Damen coughed, a little suspiciously timed, and Laurent could hear the choking that came with him trying to hide a laugh. ‘Babe, I’m so sorry.’

‘Are you _laughing_ at me?’

‘I’m trying not to, I really am.’

‘It’s in my ass, Damen,’ Laurent hissed. ‘Right in there.’

‘How?’

‘I was holding a baby. I was burping a baby. The baby burped. A lot.’

‘You love kids, and you’re good with them, and you have the kindest heart in anyone I’ve ever met,’ Damen said softly. ‘That’s why you love your job. You get to take care of small humans, and you get them through tough times when sometimes other people give up on them, but you don’t.’

Laurent smiled, despite the vomit soaking into his boxers. ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘That’s right.’

‘Have you got anything you can change into?’

‘I’m not going to steal a pair of those maternity things, if that’s what you’re asking. I’m just going to deal. And change my scrubs.’

‘Good plan.’

Laurent paused as he sorted through for a pair of scrub pants in his size. ‘Damen,’ he said calmly. ‘There are none in my size.’

‘What?’

‘There are extra small, or extra large.’

‘Oh.’

‘What do I do?’

‘You’re asking me?’

‘I have Christmas scrubs at home, can you swing past and bring them?’

‘Laurent,’ Damen said, openly laughing now. ‘No. It’s like, September, that’s too soon for Christmas.’

‘This is a hospital, stranger things have happened,’ Laurent said hopefully.

‘It’s only for a few hours –’

‘Five.’

‘So you’ll be okay,’ Damen finished, like Laurent hadn’t even spoken. There was some talking in the background, and Damen sighed. ‘I gotta go. We’re up.’

‘Okay. Save some lives.’

‘Yeah, I think we’re gonna be coming to you, babe,’ Damen said. ‘I’ll text you. Good luck with the pants.’

‘Thanks,’ Laurent said drily, as he ended the call, being left to sort out the problem with his pants by himself.

 

**Thursday, 1:49pm.**

The next Laurent heard from Damen, it was in person in the ER. Auguste was busy with a patient, but he glanced up when he saw Laurent in his peripheral vision and nodded towards a cubicle on the other side of the floor.

The curtains were drawn, so Laurent wasn’t sure what was going on in there, but he figured it might have to do with the woman Nik was helping Auguste move off the stretcher.

He pulled the curtain aside and stepped in to find Damen sitting with a tray beside a shaking kid who looked to be in his early teens.

The kid looked up, startled, and glanced to Damen, leaning a little away from where Laurent was, making no move to come closer.

‘It’s fine, he’s a doctor,’ Damen murmured. ‘Dr de Vere, could you take over?’

Laurent fought to keep the frown off his face and took Damen’s vacated seat as he stood and stripped off a pair of gloves. ‘What’s your name?’ he asked, scanning the boy quickly and noting he had a towel wrapped around one hand.

‘Scott,’ the kid mumbled. ‘Is my mom okay?’

‘Our best people are with her,’ Laurent said, getting a pair of gloves for himself. ‘Can I take a look at your hand?’ At Scott’s nod, Laurent unwrapped the towel, glancing up to him and Damen. ‘Those are some nasty cuts. How did this happen?’

‘I came home and saw my mom on the floor, but I left my keys at home, so I punched a window to get in,’ Scott said.

‘You weren’t at school?’

‘I don’t like math.’

‘Ah. You called the ambulance?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Then it’s probably a good thing you don’t like math, huh?’ Laurent said, getting what he needed to clean the cuts. ‘I’ll get you fixed up and Damen will go check on your mom.’

Damen nodded and left, shooting an encouraging smile to Scott as he slipped through the curtains.

‘Are you guys friends?’ Scott asked after a moment of Laurent gently tending to his hand.

‘I guess you could say that,’ Laurent agreed. ‘How old are you, Scott?’

‘Thirteen.’

‘My cousin is thirteen. He stays with me sometimes, and we play trivia quiz games and eat popcorn.’

‘Are you any good?’ Scott blushed at his question, like he hadn’t meant to say it. ‘I mean, because you’re a doctor. You must be smart.’

‘He beats me sometimes because I’m not always up to date with pop culture,’ Laurent said, humming as he inspected the cuts. ‘I don’t think you’ll need stitches. You were very lucky.’

‘What about my mom?’

‘I’m sure the doctors are doing everything they can to help her,’ Laurent reassured him. ‘Damen will get an update for you.’

‘Can I ask you something?’

‘Sure.’

‘Is…’ Scott paused, wincing a little as Laurent cleaned the cuts. ‘The paramedic – Damen – he said Dr de Vere was the best in the hospital.’

‘Is there a question in there?’

‘Is that you?’

‘My brother is Dr de Vere, too,’ Laurent smiled. ‘But Damen’s a little biased, so he probably meant me.’

‘Are you friends?’

‘Damen and I are… I suppose we’re friends.’

Scott nodded, watching Laurent finish cleaning his cuts and start to place butterfly stitches. ‘I’m scared,’ he whispered. ‘For my mom.’

‘I know. You did well by calling for help, you’ve been very brave today,’ Laurent said, looking up at the sound of the curtains moving to allow Damen in.

‘How are you doing in here?’ Damen asked, peering over to look at Laurent’s handiwork.

‘I’m okay. My mom – is she..?’

‘They’re running some tests, but she’ll be fine. Do you have someone else we can call for you to come stay with you?’

‘My dad,’ Scott said. ‘But he’s at work.’

‘Do you know a phone number we can reach him on?’ At Scott’s nod, Damen handed him a pad of paper and a pen for him to write it on. ‘Great,’ Damen smiled. ‘There’s a nurse outside, and she’ll take you to your mom, okay?’

‘Okay,’ Scott slid off the bed and looked down to his bandaged hand. ‘Thank you,’ he said, quickly giving Laurent a hug, and doing the same to Damen, who opened the curtain for him and handed the phone number to the nurse waiting for him.

When the curtain dropped, Damen turned to Laurent and let out a deep sigh. ‘Hey,’ he murmured.

‘Hey,’ Laurent smiled, standing and tossing his gloves onto the tray with the other things he’d used, before he came over to give Damen a hug of his own. ‘What did Auguste think?’

‘Possibly a stroke,’ Damen said, stepping back and sitting on the bed. ‘She hit her head on the way down, so they don’t quite know what the damage is yet.’

‘That’s… rough.’

‘Yeah. Brave kid, punching out a window like that. Brave, but stupid. He’s lucky he didn’t do worse to his hand.’

‘You’re saying that like you’ve never punched out a window without wrapping your hand.’

Damen rolled his eyes. ‘That was _one time_ ,’ he muttered, ‘and we’d just been skinny dipping. I didn’t have _anything_.’

‘Hmm, yeah, but you could’ve knocked on the door. We weren’t there alone.’

‘Like I was gonna let Nik see you naked.’

‘He’s come into our room at least twice while we were naked, Damen.’

‘Different situation.’

Laurent raised an eyebrow. ‘Sure. We should go before someone comes in wondering what we’re doing.’

‘We’re talking.’

‘They think we hate each other.’

‘So?’

‘It’s kinda fun,’ Laurent shrugged. ‘Maybe I want to keep it that way.’

‘You want your colleagues to think you hate your boyfriend?’ Damen gasped in faux-horror. ‘ _Laurent_. I thought what we had was special.’

‘It was special the first ten years,’ Laurent said, leaning over quickly to kiss Damen. ‘Let’s move.’

‘I suppose that’s an unusually long honeymoon period,’ Damen said, standing and reaching to open the curtain before it was yanked back by an intrigued Lazar.

‘What’s an unusually long honeymoon period?’ Lazar asked.

‘Me and my boyfriend,’ Laurent said smoothly. ‘Ten years is good, right?’

‘You were – wait, ten years? How long have you been with this guy?’

‘Sometimes I wonder if it’s been too long.’

‘Well, you know where to find me,’ Damen winked. ‘Nik’s waiting for me. See you ‘round.’

‘Yep, see ya, Damen,’ Lazar nodded, turning his attention back to Laurent as Damen headed for the exit. ‘So, tell me more about your mystery boyfriend.’

 

**Thursday, 4:08pm.**

‘What does he look like?’

Laurent looked up from where he had a tablet and his notes on the desk of the nurses’ station. ‘Lazar?’ he frowned. ‘What are you doing up here?’

‘Came to see you.’

‘Why?’

‘You have a boyfriend,’ Lazar said, like it was obvious, ‘who you’ve apparently been with for quite a while, and no one I’ve asked knew he existed.’

‘How many people did you ask?’

‘Like everyone I’ve seen today.’

Laurent sighed. ‘He’s tall.’

‘Tall? Is that all I get?’

‘He could take you in a fight.’

‘I doubt it.’

Laurent laughed, tapping his pen on the desk. ‘Trust me.’

‘I don’t trust you,’ Lazar leaned his elbows on the counter and peered down at Laurent. ‘You’ve kept this a secret as long as I’ve known you. You _lied_ to me and to everyone.’

His tone was scandalised, and it made Laurent smile, even as he considered how much he did not want to be having this conversation. ‘I’m not telling you anything else except that.’

‘Not even how long you’ve been together? For real?’

Laurent shrugged. ‘Our parents are friends. We were practically raised together.’

‘What does that even mean? You could’ve only just –’

‘Look, I’m not telling you anything. You can ask Auguste if you want, because I think he knows that if he goes too far, I’ll kill him in his sleep. Or spill some of _his_ secrets.’

Lazar narrowed his eyes and hummed thoughtfully. ‘Fine. I may do that.’

‘Fine. Bye,’ Laurent said, turning pointedly back to his work. He had just touched his pen to paper when his phone went off with a text. He slid it discreetly from his pocket to see a text from Damen.

 

_(16:10) I’m coming in – got a kid who needs a check_

Laurent sighed and stood from the desk, calling to Lazar at the elevator to hold the door, as he headed to join him. He tucked his phone back into his pocket just as he stepped in, and Laurent saw Lazar’s eyes track the movement.

‘What –’

‘Nope,’ Laurent said, hitting the button for the ground floor. ‘I don’t ask you about your relationship, you don’t ask about mine.’

‘But you know I’m with Pallas. You know everything.’

‘And that’s your choice, it doesn’t mean you’re entitled to the same from me.’

Lazar was quiet for a moment, choosing right before the doors opened to ask, ‘What’s his name?’

‘Nope!’ Laurent said, heading to where he could see Damen sitting in on a bed with a… baby. That was a baby. Not a kid. A baby. Like, a one year old. No more than two. ‘Damen, what the hell?’ he muttered, inspecting the kid with a critical eye.

‘Car crash. There’s someone on the way, I promise. We couldn’t see anything wrong with her, but we figured you might be able to… see something we might have missed.’

‘Do you think you missed something?’ Laurent raised an eyebrow, taking the girl from Damen and watching her for any signs of pain as he ran his fingers gently over her neck and back. ‘How bad was the crash?’

‘Three cars. It was pretty high speed, but they were the middle car. Her dad slammed his head straight into the steering wheel.’

‘Ouch,’ Laurent smiled at the girl, who was watching him with wide brown eyes. ‘I think you’re okay, huh? Do you know your name?’

‘Her dad was conscious,’ Damen offered. ‘Said her name is Annabelle.’

‘Annabelle,’ Laurent said, and the girl smiled in response. ‘What a pretty name.’

‘We should have kids,’ Damen murmured, watching as Annabelle started playing with Laurent’s pink donut patterned lanyard. ‘You’re so good with them.’

‘It’s my job.’

‘You know what I mean.’

Laurent glanced at him with a small smile. ‘You are too, you know.’

‘It’s my job, too.’

‘Yeah, but you look… _right_ with a baby on your hip.’

‘So do you.’

Laurent huffed and took the pen from Annabelle’s hand that she’d grabbed from the front of his scrubs. ‘No kids until you at least propose.’

‘Babe, come on,’ Damen muttered, stopping himself just in time to not poke Laurent in the thigh. ‘We’re practically married already.’

‘So? Make it official. We’ve been over this.’

‘Do you two want to stop flirting in my ER?’ Auguste asked, his head poking through the gap in the curtains of their cubicle. ‘Damen, don’t you have something else to do?’

‘I’m on a break.’

‘Laurent?’

‘I’m a paediatrician, Auguste,’ Laurent said flatly. ‘And if I’m not mistaken, this is a child.’

‘Give the child to a nurse. Damen, go eat something.’ Auguste’s head vanished as fast as it had appeared.

Damen sighed and stood. ‘He has a point. Nik will be around here somewhere.’

‘Has he said anything to you?’

‘Who, Nik?’

‘Yeah.’

‘About what?’

Laurent pursed his lips. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t say anything.’

‘Is it about his new fuckbuddy?’

‘You can’t say that in front of a _child_ ,’ Laurent chided. ‘But yes.’

‘No. He hasn’t even confirmed it. How did you know?’ Damen asked suspiciously.

‘No reason.’

‘I don’t like when you say that.’

Laurent shrugged and stood. ‘Go find Nik. Go have some food. I’ll see you at home.’

‘Okay,’ Damen pecked his cheek. ‘See you later.’

 

**Thursday, 5:33pm.**

‘Laurent!’ Lazar called, skidding down the hallway from the lift to the nurses’ station Laurent was getting up from. ‘You busy tonight?’

‘Yes,’ Laurent said, rolling his shoulders and pushing his chair in. ‘Why?’

‘What are you doing?’

‘Going home to see my cat and have a nap.’

‘Do you want to come out?’

‘Come out where? I am out.’

‘No, like, come _out_ ,’ Lazar repeated, like he was waiting for something to click in Laurent’s mind.

‘Okay, sure,’ Laurent said earnestly. ‘Lazar, I’m gay.’

‘No, I mean –’

‘I know what you mean. No. I don’t want to go out for drinks with you tonight.’

‘Why not?’ Lazar whined. ‘You can bring your boyfriend.’

‘He’s at work. I don’t think he would want to skip dinner to go drinking,’ Laurent said, even though he knew Damen would probably leap at the opportunity. They never really went out with their colleagues because – well. No one knew they were together.

‘Well, I’m gonna keep asking until you say yes.’

‘I suspect you will, and unless you have a life or death situation for me, I’m going home.’

Lazar frowned. ‘Fine. See you tomorrow.’

‘Yep,’ Laurent said, heading off down the corridor to get changed. He couldn’t wait to get home, even if Damen wouldn’t be back for another few hours.

 

**Thursday, 7:48pm.**

‘Honey, I’m home!’ Damen sang from the door, and Laurent perked up, peering over the back of the couch towards their front door.

‘Wontons?’ he asked.

‘Got them!’ Damen smiled as he came into their living room, leaning down and kissing Laurent’s forehead. ‘Eat here or?’

Laurent squinted suspiciously at him as he went back towards the kitchen. ‘What’s the alternative, eating in the bath?’

‘Nothing is stopping us.’

‘We’re adults, Damen,’ Laurent stood off the couch and wandered towards the sound of boxes being placed on the kitchen bench. ‘We’ll eat the wontons while the bath runs so we don’t get crumbs in the water.’

Damen stopped, a takeaway box hovering in his hand, and looked up. He smiled and put the box down, coming over to envelope Laurent in his arms. ‘God, I love you.’

‘I know,’ Laurent said, pressing his lips to Damen’s jaw. ‘Bath bomb?’

‘Once we’ve eaten. Otherwise it’ll be too many smells.’

‘I’m so glad you’re home.’

‘I know.’

 

**Thursday, 8:21pm.**

Discarded containers of Chinese food lay scattered across the bathroom floor, the light scent of them now mostly covered up by the lavender of Laurent’s chosen bath bomb.

He felt perfectly happy in this moment. Always did, when it was just him and Damen together, warm water covering them like a blanket, as he leaned into Damen’s chest, trailing his fingers idly over Damen’s forearm swung around him.

‘Lazar wanted to go out for drinks today,’ Laurent said quietly, adjusting a little and putting his head against Damen’s shoulder as he stretched out.

‘And you turned him down,’ Damen said, unsurprised but not unhappy.

‘ _We_ turned him down,’ Laurent corrected.

‘Ah,’ Damen sighed. ‘Do you really never talk about me at work?’

‘There’s never been a reason to,’ Laurent said, before quickly adding, ‘Not that there’s a reason not to, either, but –’

‘But it’s been this long and now you’re kind of enjoying holding this over everyone?’

‘Especially Lazar.’

Damen shrugged, dislodging Laurent a little with the movement. ‘They’re not my colleagues. I’m not going to tell you to do something you don’t want to.’

‘You’re not angry, are you? That I’m keeping you to myself?’

‘Of course not. I don’t need anyone else or their approval in my relationship.’

Laurent hummed, twisting their fingers together. ‘What if I did tell them?’

‘Then that’s up to you. I wouldn’t mind going out for drinks every now and then with your work friends.’

‘As my boyfriend.’

‘As your boyfriend.’

‘I’ll think about it.’

‘Okay,’ Damen said, sliding into the water a bit more, taking Laurent with him. ‘I’ve been thinking.’

‘About what?’ Laurent asked warily.

‘What you said earlier about, uh… making it official.’

‘What?’

‘Proposing.’

‘Oh.’ Laurent turned to look at Damen, who was glaring at the water like it had somehow offended him. ‘You don’t need to feel pressure about it, you know that, right?’

‘Right, yeah, but at the same time, that’s something you want?’

‘I’ve wanted to marry you since I was eight years old, Damen.’

‘We did have Auguste marry us in your parent’s backyard that one time,’ Damen reminded him. ‘But I suppose it might be time for a vow renewal.’

Laurent waited, studying Damen’s face for something to give itself away. When nothing happened, he said, ‘Are you asking me to marry you right now?’

Damen stood abruptly, forcing a wave of water over Laurent as he left the bath, walking swiftly from the bathroom and leaving a trail of wet footprints into the hall.

Laurent blinked in confusion, running over his words in his mind for something to have made Damen react that way, and he was just coming to a conclusion that he _might’ve_ pushed a little too far, when Damen reappeared.

There was a box in his hand.

‘Oh my God,’ Laurent said, looking from the box to Damen’s face, to Damen kneeling on the bath mat amongst the containers of leftover noodles and rice. ‘Damen?’

‘I’ve actually had this a while,’ Damen said, cracking open the box to a silver ring, delicate floral motifs engraved into the metal and curling around a small sapphire set level with the top of the ring. ‘But this kind of feels like the right moment.’

‘Damen…’ Laurent trailed off, biting his lip and glancing from the ring to Damen, his face so honest and open. ‘Are you going to ask me?’

‘Do you want – is now a good time?’

‘Now’s a good time.’

Damen’s face split into a grin. ‘Laurent, I’ve loved you since before I can remember, and I’ll love you for the rest of time. Will you marry me?’

Laurent nodded. ‘Yes,’ he said, a little more choked up than he was willing to admit. ‘I’ll marry you.’

‘Again.’

Laurent laughed, reaching for a towel to dry off his hand and slide on the ring. ‘Again.’

 

**Friday, 7:01am.**

‘You’re late.’

‘I’m not late, it’s seven,’ Nik said, groaning as he climbed into the passenger seat beside Damen.

‘It’s one minute past seven,’ Damen said calmly. ‘And I have _news_ to share. You made me wait to share my news.’

‘What news?’

Damen grinned. ‘Guess who got engaged last night?’

‘I dunno,’ Nik frowned. ‘Is it someone we know or are you making me think of random celebrities –’

‘Me!’

Nik blinked. ‘Wait, what?’

‘Me!’ Damen repeated, holding up his hand where exactly no rings sat. ‘I asked Laurent last night!’

‘Oh, shit, dude!’ Nik said, finally catching up. ‘You’re getting married?’

‘I’m getting married!’

‘That’s great! Finally!’ Nik leaned over to give him an awkward hug. ‘It’s about time, Damianos.’

‘Right?’ Damen grinned. ‘I wanted to ask you something.’

‘This better be what I think it is.’

‘Best man?’

‘Hell yeah.’

 

**Friday, 8:09am.**

‘That wasn’t there yesterday,’ Lazar said lightly, as Laurent walked into the ER, checking the page on his phone. ‘New bling?’

‘New bling?’ Auguste asked, popping up from behind the nurses’ station and squinting to see what Lazar was talking about.

‘Yeah,’ Laurent held up his hand with a small smile, rolling his eyes when Auguste stood abruptly and barrelled his way around the desk to pull him into a hug. ‘He figured it was time for a vow renewal.’

‘What, from when I married you two that one time in the backyard?’

‘Exactly.’

‘God, it took him long enough, didn’t it?’

‘Sure did,’ Laurent agreed with a huff of laughter.

‘Why didn’t you call last night?’

‘Figured you might be busy with your new friend.’

‘Did you call Mom and Dad?’

‘Of course.’

‘How did he do it?’ Auguste asked, finally releasing Laurent and subtly reaching up to wipe at his eye.

‘Naked, in the bathroom, surrounded by boxes of Chinese food, while I was still _in_ the bath,’ Laurent shrugged. ‘Romantic stuff. He said he could redo the proposal if I wanted, but it seemed pretty perfect.’

‘You two are gross. You’re still so…’

‘In love?’

‘Very.’

‘But you’ll be my best man, right?’

‘I’d fight anyone who tried to take it from me, including you.’

‘Great! So, drinks _tonight_?’ Lazar asked loudly. ‘We gotta celebrate. When does your man get off work?’

‘Five tonight.’

‘So… let’s say six? At The Empress?’

‘Maybe. I got a page?’

‘Yeah, bed four,’ Auguste said. ‘But Laurent?’

‘Yeah?’ Laurent said, stopping on his heel.

‘I’m happy for you. Both.’

‘Thank you,’ Laurent turned to Lazar. ‘Remind me later to ask my _fiancé_ about drinks, okay?’

‘Will do,’ Lazar said, grinning triumphantly.

 

**Friday, 12:57pm.**

Damen hadn’t had a chance to see Laurent yet today, but that was finally turning around. Not that it was exactly a good thing, seeing as he was taking a child to the emergency department of a hospital in his ambulance, but the kid seemed to just have a broken arm, so it could’ve been worse.

‘Can you page Dr de Vere, please?’ Damen said to a nurse, as they arrived at the ER and he took the kid to an empty bed. ‘Paeds, not head of ER.’

‘Sure,’ he nodded.

‘Do you want anything?’ Damen asked, turning back to the girl (and her teacher) with him. ‘Water?’

‘Water would be nice, thank you,’ she nodded.

‘I’ll be right back, Nik will stay with you,’ he said, as Nik came in through the doors and picked up conversation with the teacher.

Damen headed towards the water cooler near the nurses’ station, and was midway through pouring a cup of water, the slow _chug chug_ of the cooler seriously testing his patience, when Lazar appeared from one of the lifts with Laurent.

‘Damen!’ Lazar greeted. ‘Fancy seeing you here.’

‘I have a kid with a broken arm,’ Damen shrugged, giving Laurent a small smile as he headed towards Nik.

‘Ah, no use in pining,’ Lazar said, slapping him on the shoulder. ‘Laurent got engaged last night.’

‘He did?’ Damen asked, feigning innocence, but apparently not well enough, because his light confusion and disbelief that Laurent would tell them came through enough for Lazar to laugh.

‘Yeah,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘Got a ring and everything.’

‘Oh.’ He hadn’t been home when Laurent left this morning, but he figured he would’ve left it off.

‘So, I think you’re officially out of contention.’

Damen hummed and held up the full cup he now had. ‘Gotta go. Thanks for the tip.’

‘Sure. My condolences, buddy.’

‘So,’ Damen said, glancing backwards at Lazar as he arrived back at the bed where Laurent was gently inspecting the girl’s arm. ‘What’s the verdict?’

‘X-rays,’ Laurent said, sliding back on his chair. ‘Laura apparently took quite the tumble from the playground.’

‘I know, I heard,’ Damen handed her the cup of water. ‘Have you bonded over your names yet?’

‘We have,’ Laura nodded. ‘Laurent is a pretty name.’

‘It is, right?’ Laurent agreed. ‘I think Laura is better.’

‘You’re right,’ Laura said, sipping her water. ‘If my arm is broken, do I get a cast?’

‘Yep.’

‘Can I get a blue one?’

‘You sure can.’

‘Cool.’

Laurent smiled and waved over one of the nurses. ‘I think we have to wait for a parent to get here, but Ancel will take you up to get an x-ray when they arrive, okay? I’ll be back when we’re sure of what’s going on.’

Laura nodded and climbed down from the bed, following Ancel and his artfully messy bun down the corridor to a waiting room.

‘I hear you’re wearing your ring,’ Damen said lightly, as Laurent slipped off his gloves into a bin.

Laurent smiled and wiggled his fingers, the metal catching the light. ‘I figured I waited long enough for it, so I might as well wear it, right? And good job picking one that doesn’t snag the gloves.’

‘Oh, hey, congrats, by the way,’ Nik said, stepping around the bed to hug Laurent quickly, surprising all three of them. ‘That was weird, I don’t know why I did that.’

‘Because you’re Damen’s best friend?’

‘Yeah, that sounds about right. We should go.’

‘Okay. I’ll see you later,’ Laurent said, as he started cleaning everything up.

‘Laurent, are you going on break soon?’ Lazar asked, popping up out of nowhere next to Laurent’s elbow.

‘Yeah, my lunch is in about ten minutes, why?’

‘Ask your fiancé to drinks tonight.’

‘I’ll text him.’

 

**Friday, 1:05pm.**

**_(13:05) Lazar wants to go for drinks to celebrate our engagement._ **

_(13:06) when?_

**_(13:06) Tonight after work._ **

_(13:07) are we going?_

**_(13:07) Pick me up. Main carpark._ **

_(13:08) can’t wait :))_

‘Hey, Lazar?’ Laurent said, stopping at the nurses’ station on his way back up to paediatrics.

‘Laurent,’ Lazar said hopefully, looking up from his tablet.

‘Drinks at six. The Empress.’

‘He’s coming?’

‘He’s coming.’

‘Who’s coming?’ Auguste asked, appearing from down a hallway.

‘My fiancé,’ Laurent said. ‘To drinks. At six tonight.’

‘Oh?’

‘He’ll probably have his friend with him,’ Laurent said, giving his brother a meaningful look.

‘I guess I could pop through,’ Auguste agreed smoothly.

‘Excellent. See you then.’

 

**Friday, 3:54pm.**

‘I love Fridays,’ Damen said, as he and Nik wheeled their patient through the doors of the ER. ‘Do you?’

‘I wouldn’t say I like Fridays _today_ ,’ the girl muttered. ‘What even – I’ve never even had _sex_.’

‘Mm,’ Damen nodded, as she groaned, taking deep breaths like he and Nik had told her to, as another contraction hit. ‘You know, we’re not your parents, we’re just trying to get you proper care.’

The girl gritted her teeth and gave him a look that could spoil fruit as the contraction tailed off. ‘It was like, two times. He didn’t even – you know. Our parents think we’re too young to have sex so they won’t give us anything to…’

‘Be safe?’

‘Yeah.’

‘It’s interesting how they think that, and they’re about to have a grandchild instead,’ Damen sighed. ‘For what it’s worth, no one listens to their parents.’

‘Yeah? How old were you?’

Damen raised an eyebrow at her. ‘Fifteen.’

‘That’s even worse than me!’ she said, as they took her directly down the hall to a private room, and helped her onto a hospital bed.

Damen glanced over at Nik, who was looking very much like he didn’t want to be in this conversation. ‘Maybe, but I wasn’t getting anyone pregnant.’

‘Oh, so now _you’re_ shaming me?’

‘No, definitely not,’ Damen frowned. ‘But I wasn’t –’

‘What, you were only doing anal at fifteen? Please.’

Damen laughed. ‘Not many other options when you’re dating a boy.’

‘You’re gay?’ she asked, eyebrows raising, and immediately falling again at another contraction. ‘Jesus Christ!’ she cried.

‘You called?’ Laurent said blithely, sliding into the room. ‘Oh, wow, okay, this is – why am I here?’

‘You’re paeds, she’s seventeen, and about to give birth,’ Damen said, turning back to the girl. ‘And I didn’t say I was gay.’

‘Damen, honestly,’ Laurent chided. ‘You’re not straight, either.’

‘How do you know that?’ the girl asked through her teeth, as Laurent assessed the situation.

‘Because I’m marrying him,’ Laurent said. ‘Why aren’t you in maternity?’

‘We just got here,’ Damen said. ‘Is there space in maternity?’

‘I assume so,’ Laurent said. ‘So let’s move her. What’s your name?’

‘Andy,’ she said, as the three of them took her back out of the room and towards an elevator.

‘Call ahead to maternity,’ Laurent said, as they went past the nurses’ station. ‘Let them know we’re coming up.’

‘Will do!’ Ancel called back, picking up the phone as they went into the elevator, the doors shutting behind them.

‘Can we backtrack a second here?’ Andy asked, pointing between Damen and Laurent. ‘You two are together?’

‘Why?’ Damen asked.

‘You’re both really hot, it’s not fair.’

‘He used to be really gangly,’ Laurent whispered conspiratorially. ‘Like the animated Hercules.’

‘Gross.’

‘Yeah. Glad he grew into those limbs, not sure I would still like him if he hadn’t.’

‘Hercules got really buff in that movie.’

‘Thankfully, so did Damen,’ Laurent muttered, as the doors dinged and slid open to the maternity ward. He ran ahead to the desk, leaving Nik and Damen to push her bed through the doors, and with another nurse, directed them into a room at the end of the hall.

‘Are you guys –’ Andy groaned again, clutching Damen’s arm as she moved to get off the bed. ‘Are you guys staying?’

‘We can’t,’ Damen said, as he and Nik helped her hobble to the bed in the room. ‘Paramedics.’

‘Fuck, I liked you guys.’

‘Do your parents know you’re here?’

‘No.’

‘Does the father?’

‘No.’

‘Do you want us to call someone?’

Andy looked up and pursed her lips. ‘Do I have to?’

‘You’re a minor, so… probably.’

‘Shit,’ she hissed. ‘Can someone call my dad? He’s… lenient.’

‘We’ll get onto it,’ Damen promised, as Laurent entered the room.

‘The OBGYN is on her way,’ Laurent said, eyes flicking to Damen. ‘Have you had any prenatal care or anything?’

‘Yeah, I got set with everything.’

‘Do you know how many weeks you are?’

‘Like, 38?’

‘Okay, great,’ Laurent said. ‘If it’s okay with you, I’ll stay to be here straight away for your baby, and you, I guess, seeing as you’re a minor.’

Andy glanced to Damen, who, along with Nik, was still standing in the doorway, unsure exactly of whether to leave or not. ‘Can I trust him?’ she asked jokingly.

Damen smiled. ‘I’d trust him with my life.’

Andy nodded. ‘Good enough for me.’

‘We have to go,’ Damen said, as Andy grabbed for Laurent’s hand as a contraction hit. ‘Best of luck.’

‘Thank you,’ she managed, scrunching her eyes shut.

‘Go,’ Laurent mouthed. ‘I’ve got this.’

Damen nodded and elbowed Nik, and together they headed to the elevators.

 

**Friday, 5:02pm.**

**_(17:02) It’s a boy! 8lb exactly, born 4:41pm._ **

_(17:02) !!!_

**_(17:02) Andy says hi btw. Asked if you and Nik could pop in so she can thank you now she’s not screaming every two minutes._ **

_(17:03) Sure. Nik’s coming to drinks. We can carpool._

****

**Friday, 5:21pm.**

Damen and Nik knocked on the door to Andy’s room – same one, they’d been told by Laurent – and pushed it open at Andy’s _“Yeah?”_ from inside. ‘Hey!’ Damen greeted, bringing out the balloons and small blue teddy he and Nik had got from the gift shop. ‘Heard you had a boy!’

Andy smiled, looking tired as she nodded to the little bundle on her chest. ‘Yeah, he’s pretty cute,’ she said, tilting her head to look at him.

‘Well, congrats,’ Nik said, as he put a small bouquet of flowers on the table beside her. ‘We’re glad everything seems to have gone smoothly.’

‘Yeah, more or less,’ Andy said, flicking her eyes at the nurse coming towards the room. ‘Dr de Vere wants to keep an eye on us.’

Damen hummed. ‘He’ll take great care of you.’

Andy nodded. ‘I wanted to thank you both for taking care of me and getting me here. You’re both so nice and non-judgemental.’

Nik laughed. ‘You were a great patient.’

‘Tell that to Dr de Vere,’ she said, smiling a little sadly. ‘My parents haven’t arrived yet, so he stayed with me and held my hand while I gave birth, and I might’ve sworn at him a few times.’

‘It’s probably not the worst thing that happened to him today,’ Damen grinned. ‘I’m sure he was honoured to be here for you.’

‘Yeah,’ she said, adjusting her son’s hat. ‘He’s a really good guy.’

‘He is.’

Andy bit her lip and frowned a little as she watched her son sleep against her chest. ‘Do you think he’d mind…’

‘Mind what?’ Damen prodded gently.

‘If maybe –’ she glanced up. ‘Do you think he’d mind if I named him after him?’

Damen and Nik’s eyebrows shot up in surprise simultaneously. ‘You want to?’

‘I think so,’ she nodded. ‘I know he told me to call him by his name, but I think I was screaming at the time.’

Damen laughed. ‘His name’s Laurent.’

‘Oh,’ she wrinkled her nose. ‘I suppose we can work with that. A middle name, maybe.’

‘I’m sure he’ll be flattered either way.’

Andy smiled again, shifting her baby a little. ‘Do you want to hold him?’

‘No offence, but I’m good,’ Nik said. ‘I don’t trust myself with babies. Only when their lives depend on it.’

‘I’ll take him,’ Damen said, stepping forward and gently taking him from Andy’s arms. ‘Do you have a first name picked out?’

‘Not yet. Any suggestions?’

‘I’m biased, but Damianos or Nikandros,’ Damen said, smiling at the baby. ‘Damen or Nik for short.’

Andy hummed. ‘I can’t pick just one of you. Anything else?’

‘That’s probably him fresh out of ideas,’ Nik said, amusement clear in his voice.

‘What do you think of Gael, maybe?’

‘It’s not bad,’ Nik said, as Damen cooed at the baby.

‘God, you’re going to be the death of me.’

Damen looked up at Laurent standing in the doorway, out of his scrubs and into his more tailored button down and slacks. ‘Isn’t he cute?’

‘He’s very cute,’ Laurent agreed, coming to stand with him and coo at the baby as well.

‘I’ve named him,’ Andy said, quietly, shyly.

‘Oh?’ Laurent asked. ‘That was fast.’

‘I’m going to call him Gael,’ she said, watching him closely as she spoke.

‘That’s a great name,’ Laurent agreed. ‘Did Damen convince you to make his middle name Damianos?’

Damen laughed. ‘I tried to make it his first name.’

‘Of course, you did.’

‘I already had a middle name for him,’ Andy said. ‘So, his full name is going to be Gael _Laurent_.’

Damen felt Laurent go stiff beside him, as his mouth dropped a little, and his eyes got a little watery, looking at the baby in Damen’s arms.

‘Gael Laurent,’ he repeated, biting his lip. ‘Andy, I’m –’

‘Damen said you’d be flattered. Was he right?’

‘I think flattered is a little bit of an understatement,’ Laurent said, surreptitiously wiping at his eyes. ‘A good, strong name. It’ll serve him well.’

‘I thought so, yeah,’ Andy agreed, looking between them as they smiled down at her baby. ‘You guys are gonna be such good parents one day.’

Damen smiled and kissed Laurent’s temple quickly, before moving to hand the baby back to Andy. ‘We hope so.’

‘We, uh, we should go,’ Laurent said, clearing his throat as he spotted a worried looking set of parents at the nurses’ station. ‘I think your parents just got here.’

‘Okay,’ Andy nodded. ‘Thank you all, again, for everything.’

‘It’s no problem. We’re glad you’re happy and healthy, and so is Gael,’ Nik said.

‘I’m on-call, so if anything happens, I’ll be here,’ Laurent said. ‘But you’re in good hands. I’ll be back tomorrow.’

Andy nodded, looking towards her parents as they approached her room. ‘Wish me luck convincing them I didn’t know about this.’

Damen grinned. ‘If all else fails, just tell them you’re tired and go to sleep.’

‘Thanks for the tip,’ she grinned, as they stood to the side of the doorway for her parents and left.

‘I love teenagers,’ Damen said, as they waited for the elevator back down. ‘They’re so fun.’

‘They’re annoying at times,’ Laurent shrugged. ‘But they have their moments.’

‘And that’s definitely one?’

‘Yep.’

‘And you got a baby named after you.’

‘Did you talk her into it?’

‘Surprisingly, no,’ Nik butted in. ‘It was all her idea.’

‘I think she’s my favourite patient,’ Laurent mused.

‘I think anyone that’s not barfing down your ass is your favourite,’ Damen commented lightly.

‘That’s true,’ Laurent conceded, as the elevator opened up and the three of them stepped in. ‘Oh, hey, guess what?’

‘What?’ Damen asked, as the doors slid shut.

‘Nik, any news you want to share?’

Laurent could feel Nik glaring daggers at him as the elevator ticked past the floors on the way down. ‘He told you, didn’t he?’

‘No, I guessed. But seeing as we’re all having revelations today, I figured you might want to join in.’

‘What’s this about?’ Damen asked.

Nik gave a heavy sigh. ‘I’m fucking Auguste.’

‘Are you?’

‘Yeah.’

Damen hummed. ‘He any good?’

‘He won’t be once I murder him.’

‘Oh, cool, cool,’ Damen said, as they reached the ground floor and the ER.

Nik went out first, going directly to Auguste, who was just coming back from getting changed, his bags swung over his shoulder.

‘I forgot my stuff,’ Laurent huffed. ‘I’ll meet you at the car in a few, okay?’

‘Okay,’ Damen stepped out of the elevator and watched Laurent punch the buttons for a few moments, before he laughed and headed off to his car. He figured Nik was set for a ride by the way he and Auguste were having a whispered argument, but still very much eyeing each other up.

The air outside was a little crisp, with a gentle breeze, and Damen closed his eyes and hummed as he waited for Laurent to turn up.

‘Damen!’

Damen opened his eyes, frowning at Lazar, who was heading across the carpark towards him. ‘Hey,’ he greeted. ‘What’s up?’

‘What are you doing here?’

‘Picking someone up,’ Damen said vaguely.

‘Oh, found a date? Congrats. Glad you’re over Laurent.’

‘What?’

‘Because he’s engaged?’ Lazar said, raising his eyebrows pointedly. ‘Remember?’

‘How could I forget?’ Damen said, spotting the man, himself, heading out of the hospital.

Laurent had a look on his face that Damen didn’t like. ‘Hey, Damianos!’ Laurent called.

‘Laurent,’ Damen said, deciding two could play at this game. ‘Love of my life, my sun and stars –’

‘Shut up, my bag’s slipping, can you get it?’

Damen laughed, and grabbed the bag barely inching past Laurent’s shoulder. ‘Sure thing, babe.’

Lazar narrowed his eyes as he looked between them. ‘I’m confused about what’s happening here.’

‘Damen,’ Laurent announced, ‘is the love of my life, who makes me sandwiches, and helped me socialise a feral kitten. He knows all my food orders, and when we were eight, Auguste married us in my parents’ backyard under the cherry blossom tree.’

‘The flowers were in bloom, and we thought it was pretty,’ Damen said, resting Laurent’s bag on the roof of the car. ‘Laurent’s the only person I’ve ever loved, and if all goes according to plan, it’s going to stay that way.’

‘Wait – how?’ Lazar said, at a loss for words for probably the first time in his life. ‘You – you’ve – you said… ten years?’

‘Oh, we’re well past ten years,’ Damen said. ‘We got married when we were eight. That’s twenty years ago.’

Lazar blinked, suddenly standing up straighter as he looked between them and found not an ounce of the joke he was expecting to. He cleared his throat and announced, ‘Well, shit.’

**Author's Note:**

> as usual, you can find me on [tumblr](http://damiaanos.tumblr.com) or [twitter](http://twitter.com/daamiaanos) where i've started yelling about fics and posting snips of a Lot. (it's fun.)
> 
>  
> 
> ~~also what's fun, is my best friend, a neonatal nurse, providing me with some anecdotes that appeared in here. i'll let you guess which ones lmao.~~


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